Russia to allow art exhibition to travel to London

MOSCOW - Russia said on Monday it would allow a landmark art exhibition to travel to London after Britain provided "immunity from seizure" to protect the works from being confiscated.

Russia's culture agency, Roskultura, had said it feared the art could be seized by courts acting for descendants of people who owned the paintings before they were confiscated after the 1917 Russian revolution.

Russia said earlier this month it would scrap plans to loan the pieces by Van Gogh and Matisse to Britain for the exhibition at London's Royal Academy of Arts, adding a new irritant in fraught diplomatic relations between Moscow and London.

On Sunday, Culture Secretary James Purnell made an order bringing new "immunity from seizure" legislation into force from Monday. Britain had originally said existing legislation provided sufficient safeguards.

"Now I can say for sure the exhibition will travel to London," said Roskultura's spokeswoman Natalia Uvarova.

"Both the Russian and British sides have done their best to make sure the exhibition takes place as scheduled," she added.

The new legislation, passed this year and originally due to be implemented in late February or March 2008, provides immunity from seizure for cultural objects lent from abroad for exhibitions in Britain.

Charles Saumarez Smith, the Royal Academy's chief executive, has said he expected Roskultura to approve the loans when it reopens on January 8, in time for the works to be shipped to London from Germany where they are now displayed.

Relations between London and Moscow have deteriorated since the poisoning murder in London last year of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko and some diplomats have said privately the problems with the exhibition could be linked to this dispute.

Russia is due to send 120 artworks to London for the "From Russia: French and Russian Art Masterpieces of 1870-1925" exhibition scheduled to open on January 26.